Analysis of EFL Academic Writing in a Saudi University

Hamline University DigitalCommons@Hamline School of Education Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations School of Education Fall 10-15-2015 Analysis of EFL Academic Writing in a Saudi University Philline Mary Deraney Hamline University, pderaney01@hamline.edu Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.hamline.edu/hse_all Part of the Education Commons Recommended Citation Deraney, Philline Mary, "Analysis of EFL Academic Writing in a Saudi University" (2015) School of Education Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations 238 https://digitalcommons.hamline.edu/hse_all/238 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Education at DigitalCommons@Hamline It has been accepted for inclusion in School of Education Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@Hamline For more information, please contact digitalcommons@hamline.edu, lterveer01@hamline.edu ANALYSIS OF EFL ACADEMIC WRITING IN A SAUDI UNIVERSITY by Philline Deraney A capstone submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in English as a Second Language Hamline University Saint Paul, Minnesota Committee: Primary Advisor: Julia Reimer Secondary Advisor: Bonnie Swierzbin Peer Reader: Amani K Hamdan   ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to give a special thank you to my capstone committee Thank you to Julia Reimer for initially bringing me to Hamline to study and for her kind and consistent support throughout my studies, Bonnie Swierzbin for her expertise in SFL and attention to detail, and Amani Hamdan for her constant support and encouragement throughout the years I would also like to thank and dedicate the capstone to my children, Sultan, Sabrina, Thamer and Zaid, who inspire me every day to be a better person   ii     TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter One: Introduction Higher Education in Saudi Arabia English in Higher Education in Saudi Arabia: Preparatory Programs Introduction to Concept and Terms of SFL Guiding Research Question Summary Chapter Two: Literature Review Definitions of Coherence and Cohesion International Research on L2 Academic Writing 10 Regional Studies on L2 Academic Writing 14 Systemic Functional Linguistics 18 SFL Relationship to Genre-Based L2 Writing 22 Summary 25 Chapter Three: Methodology 27 Research Site 28 Participants 28 Preparatory English Program 29 Theoretical Paradigm and Design 29 Data Collection and Analysis Preparation 30 Analysis Procedures 30 Validation and Triangulation of Findings 33   iii     Research Ethics 33 Summary 34 Chapter Four: Results and Discussion 35 Autobiographical Recount Genre 35 Patterns of Coherence 37 Patterns of Cohesion 45 Summary 51 Chapter Five: Conclusion 53 Brief Summary of Findings 53 Limitations of the Study 55 Implications for EFL Writing Instructors 55 Recommendations for Future Research 58 Dissemination of Results 59 Reflections on the Study 61 Appendix A: Consent Form (English) 63 Appendix B: Consent Form (Arabic) 65 References 66           iv     LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Textual Metafunction Analysis Features 31 Table 2: Features of an Autobiographical Recount Writing 36 Table 3: Common Theme/Rheme Patterns 43 Table 4: Theme/Rheme Patterns in Introduction 44 Table 5: Theme/Rheme Patterns in Body 45 Table 6: Frequent Grammatical Cohesive Devices in Students’ L2 Writing 46 Table 7: Frequent Lexical Cohesive Devices in Students’ L2 Writing 49   v     LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: The Metafunctions and Language Choices that Determine Register 20 Figure 2: Relationship of Genre to Register and Language 23 Figure 3: Sample of Text Illustrating Coherence with Topic Sentences 40   vi       CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION Knowledge is the foundation of the renaissance of nations Introduction to the King Abdullah Scholarship Program The higher education systems in the Arabian Gulf countries1 and Saudi Arabia in particular have advanced and changed tremendously over the last half century and particularly in the last two decades These systems have changed primarily to advance the individual country and its citizens in all aspects and on all levels including economic, academic, cultural, technological, and global A great deal of the advancement has roots in Islamic teachings, and change has been influenced by increased student population, demands of the job market, and the influence of international higher education (Al-Anqari, 2014; Saleh, 1986) The Gulf countries have now consumed aspects of Western higher education with thousands of students being sent abroad, implanted ‘satellite’ campuses, and North American or European curricula supporting new majors based on public and private demands for a knowledge-based economy With this influx of international higher education influence, the youth of Gulf countries, countries entrenched historically in                                                                                                                   1According to Henderson (2014), the Arabian Gulf countries are nations that border the Arabian Gulf, also referred to as the Persian Gulf: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sultanate of Oman, and Qatar Iraq, Iran, and Yemen also border the Gulf but are not part of the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) and are not referred to as Gulf countries in this study           national and cultural identities, are embracing globalization and international standards of quality and accreditation In the era of globalization, English has become the dominant lingua franca and for Saudi Arabia, in particular, the Ministry of Education (MOE) realized long ago that to advance globally, English language instruction was imperative not only for communication with international people but for modernization in necessary aspects of daily life and national independence (Al-Seghayer, 2011) Further, in certain fields of study, English is the primary language for research, curricula, and technological support English has not been given official status as a second language in the country; however, it is given substantial significance as the primary foreign language taught in Saudi government schools, and several companies and universities use English as the language of communication and instruction As an academic and a professional, I am interested in how students with a native or first language (L1) of Arabic write academically in their second language (L2) of English and construct meaningful text The more I teach writing to students from all backgrounds in Saudi Arabia (private- or government-schooled, from different parts of the country, different families, tribes, and socioeconomic backgrounds, etc.), the more I realize that some aspects of their academic writing, such as format and organization, are consistent and can be adjusted or modified fairly easily and quickly while others require more time; obvious patterns of language usage in their writing have emerged These patterns often directly reflect their L1 and their own cultural means of communication If these patterns at varying levels of proficiency are described, researched and known, particularly related to functional linguistics (Halliday & Matthiessen, 2013), which views grammar structures and word choices as tools to make meaning in a social context, then future educators can have a general foundation from which to begin and spend their instructional time wisely         and efficiently to enhance their students’ L2 academic writing, particularly genre-based writing This capstone then aspires to add to descriptive analytic research of L2 academic writing of Saudi higher education students to give further guidance and foundation to L2 writing educators Through my experiences with my children, I have realized that native speaker does not equal native writer I have lived in the Kingdom for 15 years and have four bilingual, bicultural American-Saudi children whose L1 is English Baker (2006) states that academic writing takes considerably longer to develop and needs to be taught in an academic environment I have seen this first-hand with my children as there are noticeable syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic gaps in their writing For this reason, I am interested in academic writing not only from an English as a Foreign Language (EFL)2, L2 perspective, but an L1, bilingual Arabic/English dimension; writing is the last academic skill to develop in my experience for native speakers and non-native speakers alike Higher Education in Saudi Arabia Higher education in Saudi Arabia has flourished since 1957 when the first university, King Saud University, was opened in Riyadh By 2014, Saudi had opened 25 government and 27 private universities and colleges, and established the Ministry of Higher Education (Ministry of Higher Education, 2014a, 2014b) The Saudi government considers higher education a crucial component to the advancement and sustainability of the country and has taken several steps to promote higher education                                                                                                                    Usually EFL would be used to refer to English use in this context as Saudi is a non-native English-language environment; however, the acronyms are used interchangeably at times for this project as some participants are not EFL students rather ESL as they have attended schools in L1 English countries or have L1 English parents and therefore have been raised in an L1 or ESL environment         57   text with a topical rather than chronological organizational pattern suggesting that the participants lacked awareness of appropriate ways to unify their essays Aside from instruction to scaffold the appropriate genre pattern, writing unified essays with topic sentences or transitions within related paragraphs that link to the text opener or main idea is again essential for creating meaningful texts Sentence Openers, In-Text Connectors and Clausal Level Theme/Rheme These textual elements move the writings from the paragraph level to the sentence and clausal level From the study, the participants used only an average of only ten in-text connectors, intra- and inter-sententially, within their essay, nearly half of which were basic conjunctions Further, there was an average of only one marked chronological sentence opener per essay, which are usually the mainstay sentence opener in this sort of essay and of the in-text connectors, only 30% were chronological The clausal structure was a mix of various patterns The participants showed a linear pattern most often throughout the body of their essays, and it was apparent that theme/rheme in an explicit sense was unknown by the participants While variation is imperative to create interesting and meaningful text and there is no 'formula' for exact kinds of openers and connectors, the chronological pattern for this genre is the most appropriate for English language learners, and the fact that 40% of overall connectors used were coordinating conjunctions implies the participants did not have more complex connectors in their language resource Explicit teaching of openers, connectors, and theme/rheme patterns will again promote construction of a meaningful text and may enhance the learner's confidence to experiment with language use Cohesion The grammatical and lexical devices used by the participants demonstrated a similar pattern to the other textual features discussed—a lack of varied and complex usage       58   Pronouns as references and repetition were the most commonly used grammatical and lexical devices to the point of overuse, while substitution and ellipsis and reiteration, requiring a more sophisticated lexico-grammatical resource (Dare, 2010), were used considerably less Several (13) participants used an exophoric reference to begin their essay, the hook, which nearly parallels the use of theses or text openers (17 participants) Thus, well-constructed opening ideas and paragraphs were illustrated throughout the texts; however, cohesion and coherence throughout the rest of the essay was not as apparent While instructional methodologies are out of the scope of this research, these findings strongly suggest a foundation from which to work and that explicit teaching, as that of the hook and thesis, provides important scaffolding of the students' writing Substitution, ellipsis, more complex referencing, reiteration, and collocation work would further encourage more meaningful text, both grammatically and lexically, not only for this genre but for any kind of writing the students would encounter Throughout the literature review and research process, it was evident that primarily discrete elements of L2 writing, particularly for the region, have been researched, considered and contrasted in previous studies—a focus on the parts rather than the sum of the parts, the whole Therefore, the most notable conclusion really is that the participants did not know how, in many cases, to construct highly meaningful text in several elements of cohesion and coherence which affected the work overall and each of the coinciding functions Via SFL or any other applicable model, creating meaningful text within a context that serves a function is the ultimate goal of any written work Recommendations for Future Research Further applied research specific to this L2 population on how to write meaningful texts is highly recommended As mentioned in the study’s limitations, research on a wider sample, including both men and women and the proficiency levels of beginner,       59   intermediate, and advanced, and across universities would provide a generalizable foundation of data from which researchers can study and educators can use to enhance writing instruction in the Kingdom It is also recommended that future research include analysis using the three metafunctions working synergistically to create meaningful text, not just the textual metafunction An expanded view of the language as a whole would provide further detailed and valid conclusions Dissemination of Results Currently, my position at a university in Saudi Arabia is defined as a faculty trainer in an academic development department, which has as its sole purpose enhancing the learning and teaching at the university My participants are instructors/professors who instruct in English Considering the role I have at the institution and based on my aim to improve L2 academic writing at the tertiary level, results can be shared primarily in two ways: a discussion to heighten awareness of SFL, and real application in the classroom through SFL and genre-based teaching and assessment strategies As mentioned in Chapter Two, regional studies and awareness of SFL is limited in the ESL/EFL learning and teaching community here Awareness through discussion and practical and comparative presentations based on theoretical underpinnings would open a discussion and therefore a door to the SFL paradigm; this is a necessary first step Showing the participants the writing samples from this study through the traditional isolated language features as compared to viewing the texts in a more integrated manner with overlapping functions and genre-based pedagogy will facilitate this discussion Further, this study’s implications along with similar studies could be shared and discussed with English-medium content and language instructors for heightened awareness and clarity of SFL as a practical approach       60   Beyond the basic discussion level, teaching and assessment strategies that bring SFL and genre instruction to the classroom in authentic ways both in learning and teaching and assessment is perhaps the best way to disseminate results that will actually aid students in becoming better writers Workshops and even suggesting international experts in SFL and genre-based writing to present these workshops (international presenters are brought in regularly in the region directly to universities and at regional conferences) is one realistic way A second and more permanent way to bring results to the classroom is working with the English language departments/preparatory programs and instructors in developing a more integrated language program that scaffolds how language is created within the different functions and across genres and areas of literacy As in Rose, Lui-Chivizhe, McKnight, and Smith’s (2003) article about an effective literacy program based on scaffolding reading and writing for indigenous adults returning to higher education in Australia, many Saudi and Gulf region language and preparatory programs use reading as a foundation of writing effective texts The reading and writing modes are often linked in classes in language programs, both through textbooks and time Often, though, in many programs, the texts and articles are general and not focus, scaffold, or even mention genre or strategies to approach various genres and create strong writing Developing a language program that focuses on teaching strategies to highlight, annotate, and respond to readings that reflect the students’ field of study, at least in the latter part of the program, and on the academic language used, across the metafunctions and genres, will improve literacy in both reading and writing and give students a foundation to work from From the readings, students begin to see the writings essential for their fields of study at the elemental and macro levels (Martin, 1992) while gaining content knowledge and learning how to write pieces that are meaningful for their future It also begins the process of       61   shifting instructional focus from language in isolation (content, grammar, organization, etc.) and the pervasive assessment focus of error counting to writing and overall literacy focused on quality of language Reflections on the Study This study on L2 academic writing using an SFL lens has expanded my personal knowledge not only of SFL as a paradigm but its possible practical application in the classroom for students SFL is a way of viewing language in an integrated manner rather than analyzing and teaching specific language features in isolation If students can understand and use the common threads of language that occur across and within fields or subjects and genres, they will be able to successfully engage in academic writing on many levels The metafunctions of language work in tandem through SFL; in other words, language choice and grammar, for example, cannot be expressed in isolation without considering the context and functions of that language use Having learned about SFL, however, I’ve realized the adage, “the more I learn, the more I realize how much I don’t know” is applicable here as SFL is complex, and I definitely have more to learn in order to understand the concept and its applications comprehensively Professionally, through this study, I have come to view and hope to practice teaching and assessment of L2 academic writing in an integrated and explicit way This poses a challenge as often the writing skill and language features in general are presented in our curriculum, and therefore instructed, separately In the case of grammar, taught as a subskill of writing in many preparatory programs in the region, present perfect aspect, for example, can be used to express time when giving an introduction but, using an SFL approach, the writer/speaker must consider what he/she wants to express (ideational) and to whom the audience (interpersonal) and in which mode in a coherent manner (textual) Further, considering genre, the present perfect aspect is appropriate for an introduction but       62   may not be as accurate or appropriate consistently in an autobiographical recount I realize that teaching without considering the metafunctions and genres misinforms instruction and negatively affects my students by separating and detaching language Consequently, assessing students’ work by separating language elements and assessing them prescriptively (such as counting grammatical errors) without giving a clear guideline of positive characteristics of academic writing is simply telling students what to implicitly without showing them or giving an explicit path to accomplished writing, much like a presenting a goal with few or no objectives or feedback on how to reach it This study has given me a more comprehensive way of teaching/assessing and looking at language use to bring into the writing classroom—one I hope to share with colleagues and students       63   APPENDIX A Consent Form (English) January 2, 2015 I am a graduate student working on an advanced degree in education at Hamline University, St Paul, Minnesota, USA As part of my graduate work, I plan to conduct research with female preparatory year students in Saudi Arabia from January-March, 2015 The purpose of this letter is to request your participation The topic of my master’s capstone (thesis) is an analysis of academic writing in higher education in Saudi Arabia I plan to describe the use of language in preparatory year students’ academic writing If you agree to participate, I will collect one of your written essays from this class The writing samples will be collected one time during the semester by your instructor, copies of the samples will be made, and the copies will be given to me for analysis The samples used will be one of your planned course assignments—there will be no extra writing assignments for this research After completing the capstone, the final results will be available to you and the university through the Bush Library or by contacting me for a copy There is little to no risk if you choose to allow me to use your essay or written work in my research It will in no way reflect on you or your grade in the course and will provide no extra work in or out of class Further, the research analysis results will be anonymous and confidential and any mention of your identity (name or student ID number) will be removed Your written work will be kept secure and destroyed once the project is completed and approved Participation in the research is voluntary, and, at any time, you may decline to have your essay analyzed or to have your essay content deleted from the capstone without negative consequences I have received approval from the School of Education at Hamline University and from the Female Campus administration to conduct this study This research is public scholarship and the abstract and final product will be catalogued in Hamline’s Bush Library Digital Commons, a searchable electronic repository, and it may be published or used in other ways My results might be included in an article in a professional journal or book or a session at a professional conference In all cases, your identity and participation in this study will be confidential If you agree to participate, keep this page Fill out the duplicate agreement to participate on page two and return it to your instructor If you have any questions, please contact me Sincerely,       Informed  Consent  to  Participate  in  the  Writing  Analysis  Research   Please  return  this  page  to  your  teacher     I  have  received  the  letter  about  your  research  study  for  which  you  will  use  my   written  work/essay  I  understand  that  providing  access  to  my  written  work  poses   little  to  no  risk  to  me,  that  my  identity  will  be  protected,  and  that  I  may  withdraw   from  the  research  project  at  any  time  without  negative  consequences             Signature             Date         64     65   APPENDIX B Consent Form (Arabic)       66   REFERENCES Al-Anqari, K M (2014) Preface Saudi Journal of Higher Education, 11, 7-8 Alaqeeli, A S (2014) The preparatory year: Global perspectives and local practices The Saudi Journal of Higher Education, 11, 45-64 Al-Buainain, H (2009) Students’ writing errors in EFL: A case study Journal of Faculty of Education: University of Alexandria, 19(1), 311-351 Al-Seghayer, K (2011) English teaching in Saudi Arabia: Status, issues, and challenges Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Hala Print Company AMEP Research Center (2006, April) Fact sheet: Learners with low literacy in the AMEP Retrieved on July 19, 2015, from the AMEP Special Projects Research Program at http://www.nceltr.mq.edu.au/pdamep Al-Hazmi, S A & Scholfield, P (2007) Enforced revision with checklist and peer feedback in EFL writing: The example of Saudi university students Scientific Journal of King Faisal University, 8(2), 237-267 Alhaysony, M (2012) An analysis of article errors among Saudi female EFL students: A case study Asian Social Science, 8(12) http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ass.v8n12p55 Al Mazrooei, A (2009) The process writing approach: The missing puzzle piece to improved writing? 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Retrieved on July 19, 2015, from U.S.-Saudi Arabian Business Council at http://www.ussabc.org/custom/news/details.cfm?id=775#.VFuSLRbB87c Paiva, K.S F M & Lima, E.F (2011) Systemic Functional Linguistics as a desirable approach to L2 writing evaluation: A case study Retrieved from http://www.letras.ufg.br/up/25/o/VIISLE_23.pdf Reuters (2014, May 20) Saudi Arabia approves $21bn five-year education plan Retrieved on July 19, 2015, at Gulf Business newsletter http://gulfbusiness.com/2014/05/saudi-arabia-approves-21bn-five-year-educationplan/#.VFuYNxbB87c Rose, D., Lui-Chivizhe, L., McKnight, A., & Smith, A (2003) Scaffolding academic reading and writing at the Koori Centre The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 32, 1-9 Rose, D (2008) Writing as linguistic mastery: The development of genre-based literacy pedagogy In R Beard, D Myhill, M Nystrand & J Riley (Ed.) 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Retrieved on September 28, 2015, from www.ets.org/toefl Tshotsho, B (2014) Assessing students’ academic writing using systemic functional linguistics at a university in South Africa International Journal of Education Science, 6(3), 425-433 Turuk, M C (2008)  The  relevance  and  implications  of  Vygotsky’s  sociocultural   theory  in  the  second  language  classroom  Annual Review of Education, Communication, and Language Sciences (ARECLS), 5, 244-262     ... international standards         English in Higher Education in Saudi Arabia: Preparatory Programs In an effort to maintain and promote quality academic programs, increase graduation rates, and... abroad and in- Kingdom in fields needed by the Saudi market (King Abdullah Scholarship Program, 2014) Saudi Arabia has also introduced quality assurance and international learning domains at the... national and cultural identities, are embracing globalization and international standards of quality and accreditation In the era of globalization, English has become the dominant lingua franca